Ohio State head coach Thad Matta will see a familiar face patrolling the opposite bench Sunday night at the Schottenstein Center. The Buckeyes host Illinois at 5 p.m. and Fighting Illini head coach John Groce was a longtime assistant on Matta's staffs at Butler, Xavier and, briefly, Ohio State.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois (8-6) | Schottenstein Center | 5 p.m. | BTN |
But despite the fact Groce coached with Matta for "six or seven years," Matta doesn't see many similarities in the way these two teams play.
"Not as much as you’d think because we have different personnel from when we were together," Matta said Saturday. "But there are some things — just watching the edits and like, ‘He got that from us when we were together.’ A lot of time has passed and we don’t have the same type of players that he and I coached together.”
The Buckeyes have won five-straight games after suffering their 20-point loss on the road to UConn on Dec. 12 and now sit at 9-5 on the season. Ohio State picked up its first win in conference play Wednesday with a 78-63 victory against Minnesota. The Illini are 8-6 on the year and recently had their five-game winning streak snapped with a 78-68 loss to Michigan in their Big Ten opener.
Opponent Breakdown
The Illini have been nagged by injuries all season, but do possess one of the Big Ten's strongest backcourts in Malcolm Hill and Kendrick Nunn. Hill, a junior guard, is Illinois' leading scorer at 18.1 points per game and also leads the team in assists with 3.9 per game. Nunn averages 19 points per game, but missed nearly the entire month of November after a thumb injury back in October. He hasn't played in enough games yet to qualify to be a statistical leader.
Contain Hill and Nunn and you have a much better shot at beating the Fighting Illini.
“[Illinois has] two guys that really shoot the ball more than anybody else, they’re really good," Ohio State sophomore forward Keita Bates-Diop said. "They’re really good in transition. We have to stop those two guys and keep them short in transition.”
Illinois is a much better offensive team than defensive team — at least according to the metrics. The Illini are 99th in the country in offensive efficiency and just 173rd nationally in defensive efficiency.
Illinois ranks 119th in KenPom's advanced statistical ratings and Matta said they will try and speed this young Ohio State team up, perhaps more than any other team has this season.
“They’re definitely one of the faster teams that we’ve probably gone against this year and they’ve got four guys that can push," Matta said. "They don’t hesitate to shoot 3s. And, as we typically do, we’re going to see a lot of ballscreen actions.”
Buckeye Breakdown
Ohio State has been on a roll of late and, despite a late first-half collapse where it blew a large lead, was able to win its Big Ten opener going away in that 15-point victory over Minnesota.
The Buckeyes shared the ball like they hadn't all season, assisting on 24 of their 29 made field goals. Freshman point guard JaQuan Lyle had a career-high 13 helpers, while his backup and fellow freshman A.J. Harris had four of his own. Ohio State put three guys in double figures and shot over 50 percent from the field against the Gophers.
That's the way it's going to have to be this season for the Buckeyes — they're going to need a different guy to lead them almost every night.
“We all have a collective understanding of one goal and that’s to win," sophomore center Trevor Thompson said. "We don’t really care who scores, who rebounds, who blocks shots. When you’re in the game it’s all about playing hard, playing together and that’s the biggest thing as the season starts prolonging and going on we are starting to be more selfless and starting to think about each other instead of individuals.”
How It Plays Out
The Illini are a dangerous team because of both Hill and Nunn's ability to get hot at any given time. They are one of the most dynamic backcourts in the Big Ten for a reason.
But if Ohio State is able to slow down that combo, it should be able to cruise to an easy win. Nunn and Hill will get theirs, and expect Bates-Diop to shadow one around for the majority of the game, but the only real danger here for the Buckeyes is if one goes off.
Ohio State has a pretty decisive advantage in the front court and should be able to exploit that and edge out a win.
Tim's prediction: Ohio State 76, Illinois 71
